


Dreamer

by thespacecat



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Dreams, Getting Together, M/M, Resurrection, extremely fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22271242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thespacecat/pseuds/thespacecat
Summary: For the widomauk discord winter exchange~PROMPT: "We deserve a soft epilogue, my love. We are good people, and we’ve suffered enough.”
Relationships: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 5
Kudos: 82
Collections: Widomauk Winter Gift Exchange 2020





	Dreamer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QueenWithABeeThrone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenWithABeeThrone/gifts).



> I hope you like it, QueenWithABeeThrone! ^_^

Snow begins to gather around his feet. The flurry of white speckles dancing in the light and gently spreading across the small clearing below him. The mounds of earth beneath him lost in the white, and so was he all alone. Not a creature in sight within the familiar forest of trees surrounding him; no shadows moved and no birds sang. It was so oddly quiet and ethereal, that Caleb reasoned that this couldn’t possibly be reality.

He takes a step forward towards a small hill, continuing to throw a glance over his shoulder in case someone were to sneak up and attack. He wills his hands to wave through the air in familiar shapes and patterns to prepare for any possible attack; but none came. He reaches the top of the hill, laying eyes upon the cursed sight of a stick wedged into the earth, with a dangling bit of cloth wrapped around it loosely.

He doesn’t move, and neither does anything else, like a frozen moment in time. A memory locked into his brain that never seemed to leave him. The haunting image was as he remembered it to be when he left his friend behind buried in the dirt almost a good year ago. His fingers do not still as he takes a glance back and forth across the treeline in front of his vision.

“Hello?” Caleb whispers, and turns around in the snow, “I know someone’s here. Show yourself.”

A footstep somewhere ahead. Caleb’s attention snaps to it, somewhere in the trees out of sight. His breathing becomes labored, and he takes a step back. This had to be a dream, there was no danger here. There couldn’t be. But still his fingers danced with his attention trained and steady.

“Hello” calls a voice from another part of the trees, far from the original sound. As Caleb looks, a shot of panic shoots through his body as purple suddenly appears behind a pine. He looked exactly like he last saw him, bloodied and bruised, with his coat brought tight across his abdomen by a heavily tattooed hand belonging to a grinning Mollymauk. His tail sweeps the snow behind him into little piles as he moves towards Caleb, stopping near his own grave to give the whole situation around him a good once-over.

“I figured everyone would show up eventually, it was getting boring waiting around for you.”

“Molly” Caleb whispers, “How… is this…” he takes a deep breath, “This isn’t real.”

“Dunno.” Molly runs his hand along the identical coat that sways from the branch, “Reality can be funny sometimes, who really knows right?”

Caleb’s ears burn, “It’s not. Reality is cold and harsh, like this dream I continue to have of you speaking to me; alive and well as if nothing ever happened to you. You’re nothing more than memory.”

Molly smiles sadly at him, letting his fingertips fall away from the cloth, “That’s true here, maybe. But hey, I kinda like this memory.” 

He moves away from his grave, moving up towards Caleb and meeting him at the top of the little hill. Caleb lets his fingers fall to his sides and stands still, watching his friend close his eyes and take a deep breath beside him; chest rising and filling with air.

It’s quiet again, and Caleb finds himself growing more and more uncomfortable with the silence, but every time he tries to open his mouth, he reminds himself that none of this was real; that all he is doing is partaking in a glorified version of talking to himself.

But it's also nice to pretend, isn’t it?

“You said dreams, how many of them have you had of me?”

“A few” Caleb says, " All different. At different places that we visited together, I meet you again and we have a brief chat. The first time, I thought it was real. But then I woke up.”

“Mm” Molly hums, “Do you believe there is a reason for these dreams?”

“I am not sure” Caleb replies, “Perhaps it is because I miss y- him.” he closes his eyes, “I am so silly right now, talking to myself.”

“Maybe you need to work through some things” Molly sits down in the snow, clutching his coat together tighter, “Maybe these dreams are a way for you to heal? Move on?”

“No.” Caleb says, staring towards the other coat, “I can never heal from this. These dreams will continue to haunt me until I join him in the ground, as with all of my guilt.”

“But I’m not in the ground” Molly says, “I’m here now. I’m up and about, talking with you.”

A lifeless laugh falls out of Caleb as he shakes his head, “You’re dead.”

Molly smiles brighter than he ever could, “If you're imagining me saying otherwise, then perhaps it is because you believe it yourself. Perhaps I’ll always be alive in your mind, Mister Caleb, no matter what ends up happening. You just have to look at it differently, that's all.”

He stands up and reaches for his hand, and Caleb takes it. Their fingers slip together and the heat from Molly’s palm melts the coldness of his exterior. He makes eye contact then, burning the memory into his mind as he traces the features of Molly’s face.

“They say you’re only dead if you’re forgotten” Molly says, “For some reason, I can’t imagine I’ll ever truly die.”

And suddenly, a noise like a crash of thunder bangs into his skull, causing him to recoil away from Molly and pull his hands up to his ears; the movement ripping him from the serene snowy forest and back to staring at rotting wood ceiling above him, and the toothy grin of Nott.

“Wake up!”

\---

A part of Caleb never expected to come back. A part of him never believed that they would reach this far in their journey to be able to return to the woods. The familiar woods; with the look of every tree still the same, every twist of the bark achingly familiar, with leaves that still swayed far above him new and crisp, and full of new life as they whispered with the wind. They were all walking with silent urgency with Jester taking up the front, her gait no longer flowy and sporadic, but rather small and restrained while not at all losing speed. Caduceus walked alongside her, steady and confident as always. The rest of them are scattered at some odd distances, but still close together; shooting glances at one another to see how they were each doing.

Soon, they make it. Thousands of beautiful multicolored flowers blossomed all along the clearing. The coat is still there. The wind rustles past them and sweeps across the miniature field of flowers steadily in waves. Caleb stills nearby to Beau, arms crossed and worrying at the inside of her cheek. Caleb follows her line of sight to Jester; who is reaching inside her bag to retrieve the diamond. Nearby, Caduceus moves to help push dirt out of the way.

“Moment of truth, huh?”

Caleb nods solemnly, “Ja. It is.”

“Are you… worried?”

“That the spell wont work? That he’ll refuse?”

“All that, yeah”

“Of course” Caleb begins, “It’s his choice. But it's- it's also a delicate balance, if the spell were to fail..."

“True. Of course. I-” She sighs, lowering her voice, “For Jester’s sake, I hope the spell works as normal. It’s- if he refuses, he refuses. But, I don’t want her to think she’s failed. That she didn’t do enough to give him another chance. She’s been so nervous about this.”

“I hope all works out too, we’re about to find out” Caleb replies, swallowing hard as Caduceus calls towards the others for help moving the earth.

With them all working together, it didn't take long to find him again. Jester takes a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut and grasping the symbol of the traveler before beginning the ritual.

It’s long, agonizing, and Caleb’s heart pounds. The seconds tick by relentlessly, and he watches as the diamond shatters into thousands of tiny shards, each one shining in the air before descending softly into the petals of the flowers. Then, each flower began to fall away, some lifting up with the breeze, and leaving behind the sleeping form of Mollymauk Tealeaf. The last of the dazzling sparkles of light float above him in mid-air and he watches as they fade into Molly's chest.

They all watch in baited silence for a few seconds, a flicker of doubt beginning to worm its way into Caleb’s brain that perhaps it didn’t work, perhaps he refused, perhaps-

And then, Molly starts to cough. 

\---

Somehow, it still didn’t feel real. There across the table, sitting in-between Jester and Caduceus, is Molly. Laughing, talking, alive, breathing, definitely not a dream. 

It’s been some time since his resurrection, and Molly integrated back into the group well. He looked lost at first with all the new information that Fjord, Beau, and Nott took upon themselves to bring him up to date with, but quickly caught up. He and Jester began working together on finishing the tarot deck, him and Yasha gravitating towards each other again almost immediately, and Caduceus warmed up to him fast; they both seeming to hit it off quite well. 

All that was left, was Caleb.

\---

“Okay. I really hate giant worm monster things, I never want to see another one ever again” Jester groans as she pushes open the inn door.

“That’s something I probably could have gone my entire existence without meeting” Molly says, shaking his hands , “Can’t wait for the nightmares.”

Moving into the inn, they uniformly decided that they were too tired to do anything other than sleep as they climb up the stairs to the second floor. Caleb follows shortly behind Nott, who even she moves much slower than typically. The heaviness of exhaustion weighs him down with each step, threatening his balance only a bit, when he notices a flash of purple out of the corner of his eye. He pauses, watching as Molly breaks from the group and moves towards the bar; collapsing into a seat against the wall. His voice filters into the general murmur of the crowd as he addresses the bartender, full of life and so Molly, and yet there was something else in his voice; something lonely.

He clears his throat, “Nott, I’m going to stay, ah, down here for a bit, I’ll be up later.”

“Oh okay Caleb, that’s fine”.

Stepping back to the main floor, he maneuvers his way past tables to pull out a chair at the bar next to Molly, abruptly sitting down. Molly jumps, causing him to jump as well, and gives him a quick look over before his face relaxes, “Oh hey.”

“Ah. Hello.”

“Sorry about that, I was… too much in my own head? Hm." He says, drumming his fingers along the counter.

“It’s fine” Caleb replies, “No need to worry” as he stares straight at the lines and lines of bottles sitting on the shelves. 

The bartender comes around again and asks him something, he orders without thinking and soon finds himself clutching a drink in his hands, Molly sipping his own next to him.

"How are you doing?" Caleb asks, distracting himself from his nervousness in lieu for a sip from his drink.

He hears a hard swallow next to him, and the thud of the tankard shortly afterwards, "I've been doing great, honestly. Absolutely anything beats nothingness. It's so much more interesting of a thing, you know?"

"Anything beats nothing" Caleb mutters with a slight smile, "Very true that."

"Absolutely" He hears a smile in Molly's voice, "You get it."

A few beats of silence fell between them as Molly takes another sip from his drink. He waits till he's done, and then taps on the counter, "But really now" Caleb locks eyes with Molly, who looks alert his way almost immediately, "If there's anything you need, whether it be an ear, or a friend, just let me know."

Molly shakes his head and sighs heavily, "Thank you, truly. I'll remember that."

"Of course." Caleb says, feeling the weight of the silence descend upon them once more. Unspoken words in many different languages burn uncomfortably on the tip of his tongue. He takes a deep breath.

"And what about you?" Molly hums then. Caleb turns back towards him to see his relaxed form propped up by his elbows and staring at him through his mess of hair, "How are you doing?"

Caleb takes a big drink from his liquor, "Things are, ah, rough, you know? But I think I'm doing as well as I possibly can be, considering the circumstances."

"Caleb" hisses the voice of Nott in his head, "Our room is the one on the right, a few doors down, I put a button on the floor in front of it so that you can find it, bring it back! youcanreplytothismessage"

Caleb stuns for a moment, and then mutters a quick thank you as quietly as he could.

"Hey."

He locks eyes with Molly, his trademark smile replaced with something much more soft painted over his features, his fingers danced along the edges of his tankard in mesmerizing patterns, "Same goes for you, alright? If there's anything that you need, an ear, a friend; just yell or knock or, whatever the situation calls for for you to get my attention, and I'll give it." 

Caleb feels himself smile a bit, “Thank you.” and then, “It’s good to have you back, Mollymauk.”

Molly closes his eyes and smiles too, “It’s nice to finally be back.”

"Perhaps you should come back up soon? You look as if you are melting."

"Feel like I am too. Probably should." He pauses, giving Caleb a lazy smile, "Good idea."

Caleb waits as Molly overpays and hops off his chair, stretching and yawning as he turns back to the barkeep, "Any good bathhouses near here, do you know?"

"There's one down the way from here, towards the outskirts of town" says the barkeep, taking their abandoned tankards and her pay with a nod, "Opens early in the morning."

“Thank you!”

The two of them soon make their way back upstairs and face the darkened hall. The area is illuminated only by the soft warm glow from the staircase behind them, along with small candles secured in lantern-like cages set against the wall between each door, forcing him to squint.

"Do you know which room you're in?"

"Ah, yes, Nott told me she placed a button outside."

"Ah" Molly says, and after a moment’s hesitation, points to a door to the right, "That one has one."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome"

They stand together still, Caleb finds himself inclined to not want to leave just yet, but the thought of collapsing into a warm bed was almost completely overpowering, he rests his hand on Molly's shoulder, glancing up to find his eyes in the low light.

"Goodnight, Mister Mollymauk, sleep well."

Molly smiles, "Goodnight, Mister Caleb" and he leans in a bit closer, brushing his own hand against Caleb's shoulder, "Dream of nice things."

He draws away down the hall, tail swishing behind him, and leaving Caleb with his heart pounding in his ears.

\---

It had been a long week of traveling for the Nein, "Caleb!” Nott shouts from where she and Beau, Jester, and Yasha were standing in some sort of circle, “I just wanted to inform you that we’ve all decided that we’re gonna to have a girls night and all share a room.”

"Oh?" Caleb says, “Oh that’s fine.”

"Perhaps we should have something like that too" Molly says. 

He nods, ignoring the way his heart rate picks up.

“Fjord? Caduceus?” Molly turns to them, winking, “Care to join us?”

“Oh" Caduceus smiles sheepishly, "Fjord and I just bought a room actually. We probably shouldn’t let that go to waste.”

“Yeah, that we did. If only we knew of this uh, sudden change of plans earlier.” Fjord rubs his hand over his chin.

“Alright then, more room for us.” Molly rubs his hands together and beckons his hand at Caleb, “C’mon Caleb, let’s go.”

He follows him down the hall, and enters through the door as Molly opens it for him. The room was fairly small and modest, only featuring two beds, two nightstands on each left side, and a couple of rickety looking chairs pushed against the wall. 

Molly nods slowly, “Alright, this’ll do” and he sits on the bed to the left.

Caleb stops at the other side of the bed, placing his things onto the ground beside it and snapping his fingers, having Frumpkin appear onto the covers. He watches as he sniffs around a bit before starting to knead his paws into the fabric, purring. 

There’s a small sound of shuffling cards, and Caleb looks up to see Molly sat up on the bed and laying different ones out onto the bed. He pauses and looks up at Caleb, “Jester and I have been working on these for a bit now, wanna see?”

Caleb nods and moves to Molly’s bed, sitting down next to him as Molly brings some of the cards up to show him. It was very clear from the artwork that this card was a blend of different styles, with Molly’s being more exact and detailed, and Jester’s being somewhat more abstract and free-flowing. “They look very nice” Caleb says, “I like how you combined both of your talents into one single piece of art” He points to the card, his finger brushing against Molly’s hand as he does.

Molly’s voice is soft, “Thank you.” He picks up another card, this one showing a beautiful image of a lake with the reflection of the moon, “It’s been... an ongoing project for me for quite a long time.” 

Caleb leans in closer to get a better look at the details, when his hand brushing against Molly’s. His cheeks warm up and he sucks in a breath; moving it a few centimeters away. Molly’s hand twitches, just slightly closer. Heart rate quickening, he shifts his hand closer as well, turning it over. Their fingers slowly slip together. His ears burn as he glances back up at Molly, who is gazing back at him; lowering the card down.

Molly leans in close and rests his other hand lightly on Caleb’s knee.

“May I…?”

Caleb’s breath hitches. He nods, whispering a small but sure yes. 

Molly shifts farther up on the bed to face Caleb more directly, drawing his hand from Caleb’s knee to his the side of his face. He rubs his thumb against Caleb’s cheek, before he closes his eyes and kisses him. 

Caleb’s heart pounds in his ears. He lets his eyes fall shut and kisses back, placing his hand against the side of Molly’s face as the kiss ends. Molly pulls away to smile, “Was that alright?” 

Caleb smiles back, “Yes”.

\--

It’s just them, alone. The room is small and cold, a window looking out into the darkened streets was left ajar for who knows how long, allowing the cold air to seep in. Molly makes no inclination that the cold bothers him. He gets onto the bed and moves until he’s closer to the wall, while Caleb shuts the window and allows the beginnings of a fire spell to warm his hands before getting into bed as well.

It has been a long while since Molly came back, a good couple of years, and they’ve only grown closer. It was comfortingly familiar, watching Frumpkin leap up onto the bed and knead into the blankets. Molly reaches over and scratches behind his ears before soon he and Caleb gravitates towards one another. Molly reaching to put his arm around Caleb and snuggling close, the heat radiating off his skin leading Caleb to move in even closer to meet his heat-starved needs.

The room is dark enough that Caleb couldn't see a thing besides the distant lights coming from the window and underneath the door. He yawns, "It's hard to imagine that I ever could of ended up here"

The bed shifts somewhat, and he sees Molly looking at him from the corner of his eyes, “What do you mean?”

“From where I was so long ago; that I could ever possibly deserve a happy life.”

Molly shakes his head, letting his hand rest against the side of Caleb’s, “We deserve a soft epilogue, my love,” he traces patterns with his thumb along Caleb’s before slowly weaving their hands together, “we are good people, and we’ve suffered enough.”

Caleb turns his head to smile at him, “I know you are.”

“And in my book, so are you” Molly replies softly, “you are a good person, Caleb. Bad people wouldn’t care who they hurt, or how to do the right thing.”

He feels a soft kiss press against his hand, “That’s not you. You care.”

a small part of Caleb wants to shake his head and try to rationalize that there had to be an exception somewhere for him in that line of logic, but his thoughts remain silent.

“A soft epilogue” Caleb says, interrupted by a yawn, “I like the sound of that, with you.”

“I love you” Molly murmurs sleepily.

“I love you too” 

“Goodnight” 

“Goodnight liebling” Caleb whispers, Molly’s eyes flutter back open for a moment as he smiles, “May all your dreams be sweet.”


End file.
